In this episode, we sit down with David Phelps—co-founder of JokeRace—to trace his journey from Craigslist tutoring gigs to designing experimental onchain voting systems with real users and real incentives. David shares how building a Stripe-powered tutoring DAO before DAOs were cool helped him see the future of crypto, and how a silly game about bad jokes on Twitter turned into a full-blown governance product used by the Ethereum Foundation.
We get into the weeds on distribution, incentives, and why rivalries—not kumbaya—are the key to real community. David also explains why most crypto tooling forgets the user, how founders should think about power users vs. normies, and why vote-and-earn is a controversial but necessary experiment in finding PMF for crypto-native governance.
👀 Topics:
– Building pre-Ethereum DAOs with Stripe Connect
– The surprising origins of JokeRace
– Onchain incentives vs. community vibes
– Crypto Twitter as your harshest and best validator
– Power users, product scope creep, and when to ignore feedback
– Why AI might be overrated for great devs
– The Ethereum Foundation’s role in app distribution (and why it should fuck up more)
Whether you’re building a governance tool, trying to make voting less boring, or just thinking about what makes online communities actually work, this one’s packed with insight and real talk.
Link from the talk: https://sarahtavel.medium.com/five-lessons-from-scaling-pinterest-6a699a889b08
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42:55
PMFers with Paul Berg
In this episode of PMFers, we sit down with Paul Berg—founder of Sablier and creator of PRBMath—to explore his journey from teenage Objective-C freelancer to shipping one of the most widely used token streaming protocols on Ethereum. Paul shares how building Sablier in a bear market helped him learn the art of launching fast, getting feedback on crypto Twitter, and evolving from general-purpose primitives to use case–driven products like onchain payroll and vesting.
We dig into Paul’s love of type safety, his obsession with building great products, and how AI is becoming his junior dev (but not vibe coder). We also talk about the Ethereum accelerator debate, cross-border coordination games, rapamycin, sunk cost fallacies, and why building onchain is still open to the obsessed—even if you’re just starting out.
Whether you’re designing smart contracts, struggling to find users, or wondering what you actually need a blockchain for, this episode is packed with insight from someone who’s been there.
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53:10
PMFers with Will Warren
In this episode of PMFers, we sit down with Will Warren—co-founder of 0x and one of the earliest minds in decentralized exchange infra. From the wild west of CEXes to pioneering off-chain intents and launching Matcha, Will takes us through nearly a decade of Ethereum’s evolution.
We unpack the birth of 0x, why early dev-fit doesn’t always translate to user-fit, and how building infra without control of your destiny leads to vampire forks. Will shares his biggest pivots—from open order books to developer-first APIs to consumer products—and what it really takes to build sticky onchain experiences.
We also explore the zero-to-one path of onchain exchange, why building tech-first is a trap, the case for scaling Layer 1 without abandoning Ethereum’s values, and how the next generation of builders might emerge from the alumni networks of top crypto orgs. Whether you’re into intents, infra, or impact, this one’s packed with hard-won lessons.
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55:27
PMFers with Griff Green
In this episode of PMFers, we sit down with Griff Green—Giveth founder, early Ethereum advocate, and longtime public goods champion. Griff shares his journey from the early days of The DAO (and its infamous unwind) to building Unicorn, Pairwise, and other experiments in the “Giveth Galaxy.”
We get into what real product-market fit looks like for mission-driven tools, how building for others beats building for yourself, and why relying on grants can quietly kill good ideas. Griff also shares insights from the Orange DAO accelerator, how AI is shifting the dev workflow, and why trust is his superpower. If you’re navigating the gap between impact and sustainability, this one’s packed with hard-won wisdom.
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56:19
PMFers with Jango.eth
In this episode of PMFers, we sit down with Jango.eth—creator of Juicebox and one of the most thoughtful protocol designers in the space. From making music websites to building roommate apps, Jango’s path to Ethereum started with art, moved through pain points in banking, and culminated in one of the most flexible funding protocols onchain. We dive into how Juicebox evolved from early experiments like Tiles and SharkDAO to becoming the engine behind ConstitutionDAO and the new revenue-backed RevNets.
Jango shares hard-won insights on building slowly, designing for sustainability, and why the best infra disappears into the background. We also explore his new omni-chain system, token mechanics, and why Ethereum just needs to not go down. If you’re into protocol design, tokenized revenue, or want to fund your project without begging a VC, this one’s for you.
Netherlands